Canadians in the NCAA: Let the Second Season Begin

Believe it or not the NCAA lacrosse regular season is roughly 70% complete. For most teams, if they are not currently ranked in the top 10 nationally, then their post season chances now rest on conference play and playoffs. Thus, April represents a second season of sorts, a chance for underachieving teams to prove that disappointments earlier in the season were not indicative of what their team is really made of. And of course, what makes this time of year doubly exciting is that the pathway to redemption leads directly through their fiercest rival's backyard. The past week has been a good one for Canadians playing south of the border, with players such as Boissonneault, Buchanan, Dempster, Campbell, Neufeld, Cudmore, Sheppard, Barnard, Loewen, Oor and Duncan having particularly noteworthy performances. Here is my recap of the week that was in the NCAA.

Division I Men - Dempster scores 5 while Neufeld breaks the 200 point barrier. Conference play is the focus this time of year and Deron Demspter (Orangeville) picked a good time to go on a hot streak with a 5 goal performance in Yale's 10 to 9 win over Penn. Robert Morris picked up a couple of key wins this week. In the first, a 15 to 11 win over Canisius, Jake Hayes (Calgary) scored 4 goals and 2 assist, while Dave Morton (Orangeville) and Kiel Matisz (Stoney Creek) each added a pair of goals and an assist. In the second game, the Colonials upended Wagner 22 to 10 with Hayes scoring 4 goals and an assist, Morton scoring 3 goals and adding 5 assists and Kyle Buchanan (Nepean) scoring a goal and 3 assists while grabbing 12 GB's and a CT. Patrick Corbett (Burlington) continues to shine at Lehigh, which sports a 9 game winning streak - best in the nation! On Friday night in a win over Navy, Corbett scored a hat trick while adding an assist and 4 GB's. Bryan Neufeld (Virgil) had a huge game for Siena in its 12 to 9 win over Jacksonville, scoring 3 goals and 3 assists while picking up 3 GB's and in the process went over the 200 point milestone. Stony Brook got a key win over Vermont on the weekend and Robbie Campbell (Delta) was sharp with 3 goals, an assists, 4 GB's and a CT in the victory. Quinnipiac won again, this time beating Mount St. Mary's 12 to 8 with Dylan Webster (Brampton) getting a goal and an assist while picking up 7 GB's. Robert Church (Coquitlam) scored 4 goals in Drexel's 11 to 8 win over Delaware while Scott Jones (Port Moody) scored 4 goals for UMBC in their 16 to 12 win over Hartford. Finally, Mark Matthews (Oshawa) scored 4 goals, Wes Berg (New Westminster) had a hat trick and Jeremy Noble (Orangeville) score a pair of goals in Denver's 15 to 8 win over Hobart.

Division I Women - Detroit back in the win column and Donohoe wins again!

Emily Boissonneault (Brooklin) had a terrific game on the weekend as Detroit defeated Liberty 19 to 5. Boissonneault scored 6 goals and an assist while grabbing 3 GB's, 5 DC's and 4 CT's. Teammate Corina Mahorn (Whitby) scored a hat trick and an assist. Canisius also picked up another win, with a 17 to 9 win over Manhattan that saw the Quinn sisters have a particularly strong day. Carly Quinn (Orangeville) scored 2 goals and 5 assists while sister Tori scored 2 goals and 2 assists. Vermont also had a strong game over the
weekend, defeating UNH 18 to 8. Karli Mackendrick (Whitby) had another solid outing, scoring a goal and an assist while grabbing a CT and 5 DC's. Finally, Katie Donohoe (Peterborough) picked up another win in backstopping Monmouth to a 9 to 7 win over Sacred Heart.

Division II Men - Mercyhurst remains undefeated Division II defending champ Mercyhurst continues to hang on to a perfect
season, defeating C.W.Post 8 to 5 in a low scoring match that saw Kyle Kallay (Orangeville) score 3 goals and add an assist and Mitch McAvoy (Sherwood Park) pick up 4 GB's. Pfeiffer hammered Lees-McRae 19 to 1 and James Sheppard (St John) scored 7 goals while Luke Gillespie (Vancouver) grabbed 3 GB's and a CT. Mars Hill continues to impress with a 13 to 10 win over Wingate. Chris Cudmore (Whitby) scored a goal while picking up 8 GB's and 3 CT's, while T.J. Cowx (Delta) added a hat trick and Cade Zulak (Ajax) had a pair of goals and assists. Seton Hill won a hard fought battle over Chestnut Hill 7 to 3. James Delaney (Vancouver) had 2 goals and 2 assists in the win while Matt Delmonico (Port Moody) added 2 goals, 3 GB's and 2 CT's. Lindenwood added another win to its inaugural season record with an 11 to 8 victory over Notre Dame de Namur. Grame Hossack (Port Perry) had 6 GB's and a CT while Carter McCracken (Lakefield) added 2 goals and an assist and Greg Cameron (Sturgis) added a pair of 2 goals. Catawba won a hard fought victory over Rollins in overtime that saw Braden Artem (Acton) score 4 goals and an assist and Michael Pecchia (Coquitlam) grab the win with 13 saves. Dowling spanked Lake Erie 18 to 10 but Trevor Tarte (Amherstburg) managed to score 4 goals in defeat and Keegan Bal (Coquitlam) and Reagan Harding (Saskatoon) each added a pair. Finally, Limestone rolled over Queens 17 to 6 with Riley Loewen (Burnaby) leading the way with 2 goals and 5 assists and Jackson Decker (Port Moody) and Shayne Jackson (Bowmanville) each adding hat tricks.

Impact points rankings for Division II are presented below.

Canadian Div II "Impact" Leaders - 2012

Rk Player School Hometown GM G A GB CT IPG

1 Chris Cudmore Mars Hill Whitby 11 0 8 68 30 12.36

2 M Kristiansen Shorter Edmonton 9 35 23 37 1 10.78

3 Luke Gillespie Pfeiffer Vancouver 10 5 3 53 14 8.90

4 A Bakular-Evans Lake Erie Courtenay 5 1 1 16 12 8.40

5 T.J.Cowx Mars Hill Delta 11 35 14 33 5 8.36

6 Braden Artem Catawba Acton 10 24 16 32 2 7.60

7 Grame Hossack Lindenwood Port Perry 8 2 1 30 11 6.88

8 Riley Loewen Limestone Burnaby 10 35 5 16 6 6.80

9 Keegan Bal Lake Erie Coquitlam 5 7 5 17 2 6.60

10 Reagan Harding Lake Erie Saskatoon 5 10 6 11 2 6.20

11 James Sheppard Pfeiffer St. John 11 31 11 15 5 6.09

12 M Melnychenko Chestnut Hill St. Catharines 7 22 6 6 4 6.00

13 Shayne Jackson Limestone Bowmanville 10 13 31 14 1 6.00

14 Tor Reinholdt Limestone Port Moody 10 17 8 26 4 5.90

15 Matt Delmonico Seton Hill Port Moody 8 29 5 7 1 5.38

16 David Beaumont Mars Hill New West 11 0 1 28 14 5.18

17 Zach Tomkinson Mars Hill Barrie 11 7 2 25 10 4.91

18 Jackson Decker Limestone Port Moody 10 16 7 14 5 4.70

19 D McDermott NYIT Vancouver 9 0 0 18 12 4.67

20 Sheldon Burns Dowling Whitby 4 0 0 6 6 4.50

21 Chris Delaney Dominican Coll. PoCo 5 10 2 8 1 4.40

22 Jimmy McBride Mars Hill New West 11 10 5 17 8 4.36

23 Nick Amendt American Intl Ponoka 6 9 4 9 2 4.33

24 James Delaney Seton Hill Vancouver 8 6 15 11 1 4.25

25 Tyler Buchan Wheeling Jesuit Burnaby 8 13 5 16 0 4.25

Division II Women - McConnery has big game for Catawba

This is Catawba's first year in Division II lacrosse so every victory has a magnified importance. Thus, the 18 to 2 win over NC Wesleyan is a nice affirmation for a program that is just getting going. Kim McConnery (Welland) was a big part of the win, scoring 4 goals and an assist while grabbing 4 GB's and 2 CT's, with fellow Canuck Jessica Leroux (Ajax) adding 2 goals and 2 assists along with a pair of GB's and DC's. Courtney Jamieson (London) grabbed 4 GB's for NC Wesleyan. Sarah Oor (Uxbridge) continues to sparkle at Limestone, scoring 2 goals and adding 4 assists in a 22 to 8 win over Belmont Abbey. Jill Dixon (Fenwick) is also playing well as evidenced by her 3 goal, 3 assist performance in Notre Dame's 19 to 8 win over Urbana. Alanna Bauche (Calgary) also had a decent game for Post in a recent loss to GCU that saw her grab 4 GB's and 3 DC's. Impact leaders in Division II are presented below.

Canadian "Impact" Leaders In Woman's Div II - 2012

Rk Player School Hometown GM G A GB CT IPG

1 Justiene Groothuis Lindenwood Kitchener 8 24 11 22 10 11.25

2 Sarah Oor Limestone Uxbridge 11 18 35 15 2 6.45

3 Emily Fagan Seton Hill Calgary 7 18 7 7 4 6.00

4 Lindsey Palmer Lindenwood Whitby 8 21 4 9 3 5.75

5 Sara Walters Converse Burnaby 9 0 1 34 13 5.56

6 Jordyn Constance Lindenwood Calgary 8 9 7 10 8 5.38

7 Jill Dixon Notre Dame Fenwick 9 16 4 17 2 4.33

8 Alanna Bauche Post Calgary 8 7 3 13 1 3.63

9 Kim McConnery Catawba Welland 8 5 4 12 2 3.00

10 Jessica Leroux Catawba Ajax 8 2 3 5 1 2.13

11 Samantha Cock Limestone Terra Cotta 10 0 0 13 6 1.90

12 Dara Hayes Merrimack Calgary 6 0 3 3 3 1.50

13 Jessica Tessman Limestone Whitby 5 0 0 4 2 1.20

14 Samantha Hall Adams State Toronto 3 0 0 3 0 1.00

15 Joelle Scott Mercyhurst Calgary 1 0 0 1 0 1.00

Division III Men - Midwinter in midseason form

Randolph Macon won a close game over Guildford and Ty Midwinter (Hamilton) has a big part of the story, scoring 3 goals and 2 assists while grabbing a GB and a CT. Adrian also had a big game on the weekend, toasting Hanover 11 to 4 in a game that saw Coady Adamson (Bowmanville) score 2 goals and 3 assists and Mitch Barnard (Barrie) pick up 10 GB's. Carthage defeated Fontbonne 13 to 7 and Keegan Bowman (New West) led all scorers in the game with 4 goals. Sam Wladyka (Winnipeg) scored 4 goals for Concordia in its loss to Trine while Jeff Wasson (Buckhorn) had a hat trick in Clark's 11 to 5 loss to Wheaton. Erik Klein (Coquitlam) continues to score in bunches for Birmingham-Southern which defeated Hendrix 18 to 8 on the weekend and saw Klein score 2 goals and an assist. Brian Gillis (North Van) scored 2 goals and 4 assists in New England Colleges 22 -1 romp over Jackson State.

Division III Women - Adrian wins again!

Adrian remains one of the top women's lacrosse teams in the Midwest. Over the past weekend Adrian defeated Lynchburg 16 to 12 with Rachel Johnston (St Catharines) scoring 5 goals and an assist along with 2 GB's and a CT, while teammate Olivia Duncan (Orangeville) add 3 goals, 2 assists, 2 GB's, 3 DC's and a CT. In other Division III action, St John Fisher defeated Elmira 18 to 5 and Emma Schepers (Elmvale) had a goal and grabbed a GB for Elmira.

Games Upcoming - Lehigh at Colgate is the game to watch.

For Canadian lacrosse fans wanting to watch NCAA lacrosse close to the border, this weekend upcoming is a feast. In men's Divison I play, Siena plays at Detroit, Harvard plays at Cornell, Lehigh plays at Colgate, Ohio State plays at Hobart and Princeton plays at Syracuse. In womens play, Canisius hosts Fairfield. The Lehigh vs Colgate game is my top choice and the Ohio State versus Hobart game is reasonably close to the border for the less ambitious.

Final Thoughts

I wear a lot of hats and coach is one of them. Starting in February I get emails from kids I coach saying, "Hey coach, have you got us a spot in the Jammer?" The "Jammer" is that tournament that was named after Jamieson Kuhlman, the kid from the Beaches who died a few years back playing a sport that is sometimes called "the Creator's Game". The Jammer Classic now represents the kick-off event for the Ontario Field Lacrosse season and getting a spot in the tournament is tough given that supply exceeds demand.

Of course, the tournament is a nice legacy to a kid who loved the game the way kids do. And in addition to the legacy of the tournament that continues to build and grow, we are both fascinated and humbled by the actions of his former teammates and coaches, many of whom have chosen to wear his number 45 throughout their NCAA careers and keep his memory alive. This year's tournament kicks off this Friday morning at Cherry Beach and carries on for the entire weekend.

Barry Mano once wrote that "Sports is life with the volume turned up". If you are driving by Cherry Beach Fields this weekend, be sure to have a listen.